Fluidised Particles: 50th anniversary

Fluidised Particles, by John Davidson and David Harrison, first published 1963

Prof John Davidson and Sir David Harrison

Fifty years ago in this department, young researchers John Davidson and David Harrison were carrying out pioneering works on fluidization, which were summarised in their book Fluidised Particles, published in 1963.

Prof John Davidson is regarded as the founding father of the field of fluidization in Chemical Engineering. He has been a member of this department since 1952 and was Head of Department from 1975 to 1993. He is a Fellow of Trinity College, he has been a Fellow of the Royal Society since 1974 and he continues to be an active member of the department. In 2010 he was awarded the Prince Philip medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering for sustained excellence in engineering.

Sir David Harrison has also had a long association with Cambridge. He completed a PhD in Physical Chemistry and then taught in this department until 1979. He left Cambridge but didn't leave education, becoming Vice-Chancellor of the University of Keele then Vice-Chancellor of Exeter University. In 1994 he returned to Cambridge as Master of Selwyn College, a post he held for 6 years, and in 1997 he was knighted.